Home of Heart's Content
by Dinopsychoninja
Summary: All new characters, same old boring world. The sarcastic big man finds himself heartbroken chasing his own biggest dreams. It's not the time commitment, or the pain involved, but the world involved. The world itself is changing slowly, controllably, even comfortably to the people around him, it isn't for him. Rated T for language and martial arts craziness.
1. Chapter 1

"Deep breath, Drake, deep breaths."

My friend sat next to me. He was trying his best to calm me down, but I was still a solid case of nerves. Sure, the words helped, but I was still about 90% sure I was in the wrong place.

"Why did I let you talk me into this?"

He chuckled. With his black covered face, he was often considered a emotionless sort of person. His voice though, is what was truly expressive. The tenor often showed through all of the expression that the covers took away.

"I didn't bother talking you into it. I just submitted your transcripts along with mine. Of all surprises, yours were good enough to get in."

"Then I know you didn't submit mine. I failed like, half my classes."

"Only about a quarter, and you also aced every subject you halfway cared about. You averaged out. Besides, the reason you flunked out was because you were hunting Beowolves."

"Yeah, but it's not like they are going to care about that."

"Um, yeah, they did. They were very interested to find out that you averaged 10 pelts a week throughout senior year."

"I'm also to old. Your like, 2 years younger than me. Everyone here is 2 years younger than me."

I motioned around, indicating everyone in the flying machine. We were whispering, so it wasn't much of a scene.

"You were held back twice, and there is no shame in that. You were a little brat."

"And you were a pain in the ass to bully."

"Oh, You know I tried my best."

The massive engines roared.

"I think were getting above the school now."

"Oh, your going to look out the window? Have you recovered form the last time you were in a airship?"

"It wasn't that bad."

We looked out the window.

It was a big place. Lot's of gray that didn't blend well with the inhospitable miles of ice and snowy mountains. They said that no one could survive out this far from the city for more than 3 day without food and water, but something in my heart was muttering about how it would like to take that chance. That worried me, as would worry you. It's always a dangerous moment when your heart is more of sarcastic jerk than you are.

I set the bar pretty high.

"You really think I can make it, liege? Cause I don't think I have the strength."

"Thinks I didn't think I would hear come out of your mouth."

"Well, it's easy when you know your bigger than anything your going to meet, but when the test is out of your control..."

"It's a little different, yeah. I think there's more a danger of you breaking the schools foundation in half than you failing."

"Now that's just flattery."

That's Legion. He might be even more of a sarcastic jerk than I am. Or at least he's good at responding to my sarcastic jerkiness. Mmmm, jerky.

The school slowly came into focus. The floor came into veiw as you began to be able to tell the windows apart. The dorm building was as plain as you could posiably imagine. There was not a signle comfortable warm and fuzzy things to be seen. The windows were evidently there only to save on electricity during the day, because they were blocky and thick.

As we docked, me and Legion both gather up gear. He had one 3 foot long case that held his lovingly cared for blade.

"Jeeze, dude. Are you compensating for something?"

I looked behind me to see another student picking up a small case. He was staring at the two massive cases that I was picking up. There was a circular nature to it that came from the object in it. The other was just full of stuff that I needed for the first.

"I just gotta keep my options open."

I walked out with my friend, but I could feel the student was still staring at me.

"Did you bring all of them?"

"Yeah, not sure if I'm going to use the big ones though."

"You should really think about it."

"And you should really think about committing vast acts of property damage yourself."

"Your love and care is noted. I take it it's still acting up."

"The firing pin. I need just a sliver of -"

"You broke another firing pin? That last one was supposed to be it. For good. For life. Your words, not mine."

"I should really install that thing... wonder where I put it..."

The teacher began her talk in hologram. I tried not to be bored until the end. A losing battle, to be honest. But it was welcome student's blah blah blah-blah.

Legion did the usual elbow to the gut when he thought that I was falling asleep. I was never the best with lectures.

Not to be all that mean or anything, but I wasn't excite to attend Atlus. I wanted to be a hunter. I wanted to go out and help people.

I just knew that something wasn't right.

It was all around me, this not-right-ness. It was something in everything. The steel walls, the students, even legion himself looked... off. This... this... this-ness!

There wasn't much I could do to complain, though. I was in and I was on my way. Whenever I brought it up with Legion, he just kinda shrugged and said he didn't see anything, and that it was probably all in my head.

Yeah, that's the problem. It's all in my head. However, the problem with that problem is that IT'S MY HEAD! If something wrong with it, I'M SCREWED!

"Your doing it again, Drake."

Just like Legion, talks out of nowhere to start a conversation like we're right in the middle of it.

"What?"

"Spinning yourself out. Pay attention, you nearly knocked over a girl."

I looked around. We were walking toward a massive outdoor meeting area. I had nearly knocked over a girl, and she was still cussing at me under her breath. Something was so wrong with this place.

There was something wrong with the guards. Yeah, granted, they were mostly the dime a dozen robots that Atlus military tech had been putting out like mad, but there was something wrong about that too.

It was like there was a chain over my heart that said, 'you can't get far enough here'. It's astounding that chains could talk.

"Remember that feeling I was telling you about?"

"You never let anything go, do you?"

"Try not to, anyway, that feeling is just getting stronger."

"Just give it time. Things will work out."

"That's true for you, at least."

"Drake."

"Don't 'Drake' me." I said, sarcasticly copying his warm and caring tone that was inexplicably honest.

He looked me in the eyes.

"It's true for you too."

I tried not to roll my eyes. I respected him to much for that. Mimicking is one thing, He's used to that. Eye movement would push him over the edge. Maybe.

"I know. It just that I don't know what the feeling is. It's the uncertainty that making me uncertainly uncomfortable."

"Students! Please end your conversations!"

Legion looked at me once with a look that said that we would continue this later. A tall man walked up to the stage.

"Welcome to Atlas Academy! I am the headmaster, General Ironwood. I would like to thank you for considering this school your choice for your futures."

I didn't have a choice. Something about that was clanking around in my brain.

"Let me begin by stating that today is your last easy day. Some of you might have trained hard to come here, some of you might have had hard lives train you to come here, but from here on out there is no easy way. You have made a choice to do something incredible with the incredible gifts that you were given, and that requires effort. That requires will. If you do not have both, you will not survive here. I do not mean, however, that you might be expelled. That is the least of your concerns. You might die here."

He paused for effect. Yey, pauses for effect!

"Let the seriousness soak into you reality. You will not go home the same. From the first moment that you leave this room, great expectation will be put upon you. Accept it, and know that the very nature of my job and every instructor at Atlas is the help you meet those expectations. Give me your best, meet my expectations, and I will work hard to make sure that you have the tools and the skills to met the expectations of world. For home, for safety, and for ATLUS!"

This cheer was copied through out the students. There were some that just yelled out "For Atlus!" Most at least, pumped there fist in the air.

I didn't. I don't know why.

I looked at Legion. Standing in front of me, I watched him put his hand over his heart. He was so serious about his love of his country. His father had been, when he was alive. It had been so long ago since I had seen him like that.

Something around me still didn't feel right.

"Wonder what his problem is."

I heard it being muttered around me.

"Guess he just doesn't care."

"gosh, does it hurt to be a little patriotic."

"I hope I don't get pair with that tall guy."

I kept my head straight. I should have done something. I should have said something.

We were told to sleep where we had been standing, and be ready for assignments in the morning. In the open amphitheater, I watched as people pulled sleeping bags and rucks out of nowhere. Legion, being his usual self, started to talk to other people.

I looked around, and I just couldn't bring myself up to say anything. I just stood there awkwardly. Looking at people. No one really came up to me, though, for about an hour.

I eventually laid down, using the case for my weapon as a makeshift pillow. I hadn't planned on sleeping in the cold, but it didn't bother me much. I had done it a lot, really. More than I cared to remember.

Then, of course, Legion threw me a blanket, before he laid down parallel to me.

"People are starting to call you stupid."

"Am I though?"

"Nah, just stupidly forgetful. Luckily thought," he said as he pulled out another blanket for himself. "Your predictably forgetful."

I looked at the blanket. It was long enough for me to lie flat, and kinda thick. He had obviously known I would forget something like this beforehand. For the life of me though, I couldn't remember a time that I had forgotten something like this before. I had always kinda gone without. Even when we hunted together, I had slept under the stars nearly naked.

The added layer of protection felt good though. It felt a bit like home. With it around me, I didn't feel so bad in the place I was in.

It still felt wrong though, and I just couldn't explain it.

We got up the next day and they took us to the lockers and explained there use. They encouraged us to learn to use them, and explained the six digit codes. The machines were supposed to fire off and land in our proximity to provide us with our weapons, in the case that we were ever without. She gave us a set of codes that we were supposed to remember, and where they led too.

Legion still stood beside me. He raised his hand.

"How would we figure out codes for off campus things?"

"You shouldn't need it for off campus things, but the codes run in a manner of trajectory. Later on in the semester we will explain them, but until then, I would keep your weapon on you at all times. Those place that I have given you codes for are meant to be the only exceptions."

And they return to the academy within a period of time?"

"That is right, so you should remove your weapons as quickly as possible, before they leave you behind in your terrible situations. It can also function as an emergency escape, if your brave."

"Thanks, Drake, whats the coordinates for Mr. Abernathy's classroom?"

I had been doing the math in my head. "983624."

He entered the number and the locker rocketed off.

"Young man, what do you thing your doing, sending it off campus could lead to property damage and-"

Legion voice shared his hidden smile.

"He said I couldn't make to here, because I was too small."

I looked her in the eye.

"Me too, I was too stupid."

The teacher was a stiff lady. Something about her gleaned in her eye though. Something that spoke to an understanding.

"I'm sure we shall hear about it later, but we are going to go on toward the next assignment."

We walked out into pad with a waiting airship. Getting on-board I felt someone shove me.

Something in my heart died. I didn't respond, I didn't even look at the person, I just kept on walking. It was so useless. Legion was far in front of me and didn't see it, but I felt that was a good thing. It kept him from getting involved.

I was probably just being a idiot. I knew that back in the day, when I would have done something like that, Legion had been the first to get in my face. He'd have gotten in the way, and tried to get the bully to focus on him. That's not what I wanted though, and I doubt that would even matter.

What I wanted hadn't mattered in a long time.

As we landed onto the field of battle, I felt my mace on my back. I felt the backpack straps pulling on my shoulder. It was a long bag, with a number of openings for me to easily grab what I needed. I hope though, that I wasn't going to need much from it.

I felt the weight on my legs. There was even more ammo in the massive cargo pants that I had on. Every pocket was filled to the brim with clips and single rounds. I had sewn them up myself, sizing each pocket to fit as much as possible.

They truly looked like shit, but that's not something that I particularly cared about.

There were a few things padding the massive multi-lined patchwork hoodie that I was wearing, but that was mostly food rations and such. It fit loosely, and waved a bit as I moved. This piece of clothing had been made for me by my mother, all those years ago, or at least some of it had. The original hoodie had ripped a bunch of times, but it still gripped me a little tight in the right arm. It reminded me of how much I had grown, and how long it had been since I had seen her. Slowly it had built up, as I had worked to repair the stitches as best I could. Some places the fabric was 5 layers deep, some areas there were only a layer of wolf fur and handmade chain-mail between me and the elements.

My stomach rumbled. They didn't feed us much, and didn't give us to much time to eat it. I was really hungry, but I had managed to store a bit in my pockets for later. Knowing me, I was going to be one the slowest people to finish. That might mean having spread these leftover further than planned.

General Ironwood greeted us from where we landed. He gray hair and stoic face did not make me feel welcome.

"Good morning Students. Today we are going to be picking your teams. Or rather, you are. You will be thrown into the Sapphire forest that you see behind me. Your will traverse through it, a trip that would take several hours. There you will find some ruins with a totem. Bring me one totem back from the ruin. You will team up with the first person you make eye contact with."

He looked around, serious pause for effect. His glasses were slightly askew.

You teammate will be the person that you will train with, and eventually graduate with. Make no mistake in the person that you join up with, as your fate rests with them."

The last part was said so seriously, that I could feel a lot of people become more focused. I knew that if I didn't meet up with Legion I was probably going to have a bad time.

I went over to plate on the ground, and I watched as the others were launched into the air.

I couldn't myself, I always calculate trajectories for some reason. Mass, force, and acceleration always interested me for some reason.

I just wasn't light enough, when I was launched into the air, it was in no way far enough. I was far more heavy than any other classmate that had been launch from that platform before. I knew exactly where I was going to land, and it was nearly a mile away from anyone else. I knew exactly where they were going to land, well, close enough, but they would move randomly from that point, and it would take me at least half a hour to get to any of them, accounting for actual monsters.

The woods and trees below my feet whizzed by. They were the evergreen trees that were everywhere in the north. The forest was a tundra and danger all it's own.

And boy did it show in the air. But once I was up there, I felt a bit more at peace. I was outside of the school. I was free to act how I wished. The thing that had felt so wrong lifted, if only a little. Course, I was flailing and tumbling end over end from the air resistance, but that was minor.

A lot of people have fear of heights, which sometimes made sense. If you really think about it, it's not really the heights that you are really worried about.

Its the fact that there is ground on the bottom.

I saw other people prepare elaborate measures to slow themselves down and create survivable falls. Girl jumping off trees and shit...

I just pulled a little of aura around me and waited.

*THUMP* I hit the ground with a great deal of force.

*Thump* I hit it again. Smaller impact, but a rock hit me the wrong way in the spleen.

*chasssssssshhhh* I slowly grounded to a halt in the snow. I was still holding my spleen. The coolness of it made everything numb.

I picked myself up and shook myself off, pulling out snow from unmentionable places. This was going to be a fun year if that was the starting point.

I looked around. There was freshly fallen snow everywhere. This being the north, that wasn't an uncommon sight. No matter how many times I saw it though, it touched my heart. I tried not shed blood onto fresh snow. It didn't deserve that dyed up fate.

Slowly I got up and started to move away from where I had made two rather serious craters. That is the direction that I had fallen, and they had said we had to trek through the forest to get there, so it seemed like that would be the best bet. Eventually I would stop and climb a tree or something to look around.

A rustle in the bushes woke me from my daze. I wasn't sleeping, but walking was just growing so boring. I hoped that it was some classmate still looking for a teammate. I didn't think anyone was tracking me. I had spent a lot of time in the snow, and though my pockets were stuffed with metalic objects, they were also padded to not make a sound. Every clip was held separately.

I had spent to much time hunting to be the big dumb noisy guy. Now I was just big and dumb.

However, as the masked head popped out, that hope quickly died. It was a Ursa, and it was coming right at me. Not quickly, but with a hint of caution. It was sizing me up. We were face to face. My left was it's right, and it's left was my right.

Oh well, at least it's some exercise.

I reached behind my back and pulled the clips off the harness. The thing was far to big to carry in a sheath, and that would just be pointless anyway.

The round solid body gleamed slightly as I raised it up off the holder and forward to rest in a two-handed grip between me and the bear creature.

It charged quickly raising a massive right claw over it's head. The paw was almost as thick as my mace, and had sharp claws ready to tear my face off.

I twisted to the left and threw myself into the path of the strike. I straightened my stance so that it pointed straight up, and the tip of the weapon glazed the massive creatures paw. For a second my back lay exposed to the creatures right flank as I threw my weapon out to the side and continued to turn more. As the full 360 degree turn completed, I felt the mass of momentum that had built up in my club.

I let it rip into the beasts now unguarded face. It's claw was slightly embedded in the ground, and the sheer speed was enough to take many be surprise. This was a young Grimm.

And a dead one. As soon as the mace hit, it was over, it didn't go straight through.

It brought a Ursa along with it though. The creature went flying, the tremendous weight of the club breaking whatever is akin to Grimm bone there is. It eventually went through a tree, the Grimm, that is.

None of that really surprised me. This wasn't a nevermore, or any other creature that had some age and bulk to it. While it wasn't a Beowolf, I had been sending beowolves flying for years now. They only weight about 200 pounds anyway.

I walked away as the Ursa slowly disintegrated.

I really need to say something cool when I do something like this...

Oh, shoot. I should really have a line planned for these occasions. What does Legion always say?

Wait! I don't think he says anything!

Is that what's cool?! I don't know!

Ummmmm... ummmmmm...

"Go back to the play ground."

Ahhh, shit, did I really just say that?

The forest was silent in it's answer. No grimm came out the bushes to respond.

No classmates fell out of the trees laughing either.

I guess if you say something stupid, it's really best to get it out of the way when no one can hear.

If an idiot says a stupid line in the forest, but nobody is around to hear it...

Oh, who am I kidding. I heard it, and it was dumb.

Dumb dumb dumb dumb.

Gosh, I hope I turn the corner and be cool soon. That's what happens right. You suddenly have this super cool moment where you can be confident and that's the thing that you copy to eterinity, right?

Oh, who am I kidding. I'm always going to be an idiot.


	2. Chapter 2

I grabbed the branch above my head and pulled myself up.

It was a big oak with thick tough branches. They had to be, otherwise I would have yet another close encounter with the ground.

I reached up and grabbed another likely branch, this being the most popular way for us regular mortals to climb trees and such. I slowly pulled myself up again, praying that the branch was more alive than it looked. I didn't want another big drop on my back. Three of those was enough for one day, especially when the fourth is a foregone conclusion. Hopefully when I intentionally fell out of this tree I was going to be able to catch myself on my feet.

The branch still creaked as I put all my weight on it. I was going to have to be careful as I went up, and spread my weight around to multiple branches. As I slowly reached the top of the tree, I was able to see over the top of the tree line. That goal was well worth any fall I was going to take at this point. Even though I wasn't lost, I still had no idea where I was going. Feeling that sentence roll around in my head for the past 2 miles, I can honestly say I hate the feeling that it brings with a well honed and experienced passion.

I felt much better as the feeling dissipated as I looked out over the trees. About 2 miles away, I could see something man-made. Some carved rocks that barely made it over the tree line.

Sighing, knowing that there was still a bit of a trek to go, but otherwise happy that I was almost there, I fell out of the tree.

I managed to fall correctly this time, letting my feet catch the ground first.

I picked up my belongings and put on my weighty clothing. When your super heavy and your pants weigh a good 50 pounds, you have to make sacrifices. The fact that it's probably not even in the positive degrees is one reason that it took me so long to actually do it.

I put my pants on, hoodie over my shoulders, and started off for the ruins. I still hadn't encountered a single person yet, though I wasn't too worried. To tell you the truth, I was mostly worried about whoever it was that was also without a partner. They could be in danger, or worse.

Lonely.

I took a brisk pace, and found myself there very quickly. I had long since given up the tried and true quiet ways of hunting, I just wanted this to be over with. I had taken out around 2 Ursa and 6 beowolfes so far, and I didn't want to draw much more Grimm to me if I could help it. Not that I was scared of any massive creature that I knew was out there, I just didn't want to meet anything that I didn't know was out there.

Walking into the temple I found that there was only one totem left. It was a medal, of the type you use to award for a military action.

There was a name on it that I didn't know, the pattern of colors were unknown to me. Even in the unknown, however, it still answered a multitude of questions.

I'm not here for the medals. This lump of metal is useless to me. They gave medals to the people that failed to save my parents. They gave the same medals as they would have given for any other reason. They did what they were told.

They protected Atlas, at the cost of someone's life.

I took the medal and put it in a pocket.

There was a little outcrop of stone that was just the right height for sitting. So I sat.

It seemed the least that I could do was to wait and see if anyone else was going even slower. It was possible, I guess. But even if they were going slowly I had a head-start. Or, well, I was more handicapped than they were.

It seemed so ironic now that I really think about it. Here I am, in the academy to be the person that made me bitter about everyone that came out this academy. They always say that they push everyone that comes to the academy to join the military, and drum out everyone that won't.

Why am I here? Cause Legion knew I wanted to be a hunter. This is the place people on our continent go to be hunters, or at least it's supposed to be. He had good intentions.

He always had good intentions. Good intentions didn't get you anywhere though.

I stood up, waiting over. I had to get back.

That's when a massive King Tiajiju came right out of the bushes with it's lightning speed.

Very little goes through your head during times like that. Certain things have right of way.

Like, HOLY CRAP! IT'S GOING TO EAT ME!

And THAT THING IS HUGE

And, no lie, 'did I remember to leave my phone in the locker?'

You can concentrate on those thoughts though, even the good intentioned ones that tell you that this thing is rather big for it's size, and likely older than most grimm. No, the ones you have to focus on are the ones that are going to get you out of trouble, like, "I wonder how hard I can hit it in the nose?"

It's times like that you aura gets pumping and whatever you do is going to be awesome.

So when I clocked a right fist (that's a hook for you boxing types) right into mouth. One thing I did not count on was that I only managed to hit the tooth of the creature, and it just broke. It shattered right in front of my eyes.

The force of the blow was enough that it twisted the snakes head and pushed it back a bit, which gave me some time to react. It had enough power that it stopped it's lightning attack, but it wasn't dead. Yet.

I reached behind with my right hand and grabbed the mace handle. I pulled it up and off the clips and pulled the mace over my head.

The ground cracked as the massive mace head hammered onto the massive snakes head. Now it was well and truly dead.

I put the mace back into it clips and hoped that they would hold out. It was uncomfortable to carry the mace around when they broke. I had a few new rips in my hoodie, and I think my backpack was going to need some mending. All this was just a consequence of my aura.

For at least 5 minutes, I had probably weighed more than the entire rest of the class. Combined. My pants had weighed 25-50 pounds before, from the sheer weight of ammo, weighed closer to 200 pounds. Hence, I wore a belt at all times. My hoodie weighed so much that it was tearing itself at the seems. With my ability, it was useless to buy new clothes, everything was going to break anyway. There was a reason I repaired it with chain-mail and fur.

The monster slowly disintegrated, and I continued on towards the cliff.

They never gave us a deadline, so, I wasn't in a rush. Shot, if your not going to tell me something, it really doesn't matter does it?

A beowolf came out of the bushes, mostly to receive a fist to the face.

I just kept walking.

And walking.

And walking.

And walking. Avoid a low hanging tree branch

And walking.

Break a beowolfs face in again.

And walking.

And walking.

Walk through clearing. Sun is dancing overhead. For the north, the sun being out is a rare and unexpected gift. The snow was blight through, I'm probably going to have sun burn.

Grrr...

keep walking.

And walking.

And walking...

There in front of my path was a Ursa. I reached into my backpack and pulled out a mortar shell. It was about a foot long and weighed about 10 pounds, most of which was explosive. I pitched it into the face of the bear like creature, getting a perfect spiral with the cylindrical sides. As soon as the tip touched the massive creature it blew up.

The Ursa fell over from the 88mm shock. It wasn't a pleasant way to deal with a beast, but it was a way.

And stepping over a slow disintegrating corpse. And walking...

And walking...

–

"The last team has come in, General. All that's left is the Odd one."

The general nodded. It wasn't unusual for the lone person to be the last. The real worries he had were the years when they weren't. He didn't turn his attention to Winter entirely, however. He continued to watch the screen in front of him. There on it was an image of Drake Longfellow, coming from a hidden camera in the forest. It had been on his main screen for a while now.

"General, it's odd for you to continue the custom. All of the other schools always plan for full teams. They are even willing to add members that wouldn't normally get in to make sure of it."

The general could give a full answer. There was a answer, a really good one. He couldn't strictly give it though. There was going to be a custom in place for a odd individual out, next year in fact. If it wasn't in place, there would be to many eyes, to many people scrutinizing a person that wouldn't necessarily hold up to that scrutiny. Last years trail had ended in disaster, and if he was honest, this year wasn't looking any different.

"Winter, what is your opinion of Mr. Drake? What do you like about him?"

The white hair woman did not change from her tough image as she spoke.

"I don't like anything about him."

The general felt a pinch of agreement but he hid it.

"He's got enough power to hit lethally with that club of his. He isn't fast, but his maneuverability more than makes up for it. He might pack a serious ranged punch with a 88mm cannon of his, and he has the fire discipline to have not used it. He's even taken the time to convince the only classmate that knows about it that it's broken. What would you call that?"

Winter knew what it was.

"He's keeping an ace in the hole."

"That's right. He hasn't used his aura to do anything but what he hasn't had control off. That speaks to a level of power control that we have had to drill into the heads of more recruits than you could count. They normally try so very hard to impress us that they don't keep anything to themselves."

"Sir, It is important that a teacher understand what a student is capable of in order for them to understand how to get them to grow."

"How to help them grow, Winter. We can only ever take a student as far as they wish. We can teach punched and kicks, but the best only reach the hallowed ground if they dream of it first."

Winter was taken back. She didn't know what to say often when the general got like this. It was a tremendous aspect of his personality, but it took him effort to use it. There was a fight going on in the general's mind, and the general was a fighting man.

Winter humphed dismissively. "Your not likely to drill anything into his head. He doesn't respond well to authority, and falls asleep during even the shortest lectures."

"There's good reason for him to treat authority with disdain, Winter. The military hasn't been saints in his world, and you should refrain from trying to force it down his throat that it is. He is a orphan of General Wolfhacks sector."

The white haired woman remained silent.

"I turn down people all the time for there disregard for authority. If you can't be taught, you can't get in. However, I know for a fact that he can be taught, and you don't even need to cater to his attention."

He pulled back up the stream of a particular little girl. She barely reached 5'1" and was laughing with her new teammates.

"He's wanted to be a hunter for some time now, and I have reason to believe that drive will cover up his deficiencies."

Winter nodded.

"Your dismissed."

The tall woman turned to leave, but she hesitated.

"Will he be able to take the strain of being alone, sir?"

The screen on the General desk had already turned back to the large man, currently trying his best to climb a cliff.

"I think he's grown to live with that strain everyday of his life. He seems to have learned to enjoy the interactions that he has with the few people that will have them with him. My fear is that same comfort that will save him from pain now will only distance himself from the team that he eventually joins."

"I'm afraid I don't understand, sir."

"The purpose of having someone without a group, Winter, is the horrible necessity formed from the dangers of train children into hunters. Without a doubt, someone will die. The gift of Atlas Academy to the world is a trainee ready to complete the now broken team."

Winter stood for a moment absorbing the information. It struck her to the core of her military being. Reinforcements, of course. It was so military, and so Atlas. What dislike she had for the young man faltered, as she looked at him in a new light.

Maybe he wasn't broken and hardheaded. If you looked at it the right way, those traits could easily be interrupted as being emotionally prepared and brave, respectively. Things that would be needed from him.

Winter Schnee walked out of the room, prepared to brief the teachers at the academy on how they were to treat the odd member of the class. Something in her gut told her, however, that they were going to know well enough already.

The general went back to his observations. He would not be in his position today if he couldn't sell a lie. What made it easy was that it was technically true. There were good enough reasons to keep the young man here for the express purpose of being prepared for a loss. The real purpose, however, hid itself in it's own mystery.

For some years now he knew that he was going to have to keep the students distanced from the project, as her social skills were not up to par to not arose suspicion, but he was hamstrung in that there was no way that he would be able to keep her form being forced on a team.

So he had to create a tradition, and create one he did.

There was always an odd student out at Atlas, whether it was a 3rd year or and 1st it didn't matter. They were forced to fight alone, prepare alone, and be ready to be assigned to any team the moment someone dropped dead.

The going rate was about 50% for graduation for those students, and some of the outcomes had been rough. At least two that he knew of were now in prison.

This year had been different. Everything had fallen into place so smoothly. From the moment that his transcripts had been handed to him by his little friend, Ironwood knew that there was potential.

Heavy training, high durability, powerful aura power, high strength, capability to support at range or engage in close, and very close. Comfortable in necessary situations, and willing to stick with any program for a year to see it's results. The capability to lead or be lead.

He would have no problem dealing him to another school in a year, and making the spot open for Penny.

–

I was tired, out of this world tired.

As a person that always weighs much more than they look, cliff climbing is not at the forefront of my skillet. I was from enough of a background that I could climb the impossibly slippery slopes.

As I bouldered another icy outcropping back up to the cliff I was sent flying off of early in the day, I thought of what was once home.

It's not paradise. Home was a harsh place. It was actually north of here, and always, always, ALWAYS cold. Far away from the snow forest and everything else of any note was a ice sheet.

In the north, where things never truly thaw, every big lake or pond freezes over, but it doesn't freeze through. The layers of ice float to the top and push up.

They get so many layers thick before the ice itself can't take the pressure and it cracks for miles and miles. The ice raises up and eventually the snow reconnects the edges. This leaves massive walls of thick ice, impenetrable to all but heat. Beneath the gray skies the ice blues into what we call the Dragon Skin. In the massive cracks there are a number of paths, paths to any location. The danger though, is real. At any moment the ice can once again break upon itself and either crash together to endless force, or break underneath your feet sending you into the freezing water below.

It was a dangerous world, down in the cracks. When the biggest ice plates moved, they shook all the plate around it, making them much more likely to act. There was an old trial tradition of sending a naked man out to the cracks, because the weight of his lies would crack the ice and kill him.

You might be thinking, why not just travel on top the ice sheet? Because that is were the Grimm are. Thousands and thousands of Grimm. They dare not go down though, as they do not wish to die to nature as well as man.

That is where my father and mother had raised me, for in those massive walls of the oldest ice there is at least some form of safety. Sometimes I think that it is completely oblivious where I inherited my stupidity from. The only safety that was provided to us was that it was to dangerous for more intelligent creatures to thrive. We were risk takers, and we lived that hard life with a chip on our shoulders.

I reached up and climbed up another ledge.

They were not from there, I know that. I didn't look like anyone else there. My skin was too light, and I was far taller and slower than anyone my age. Course, I only found that out after my parents were long dead. I'm sure they would have told me when I was a bit older.

It was still a shock the first time I saw a mirror though. There are very few reflective surfaces, as any heat or sunlight that will come in is gladly welcomed. You never take off your clothes, even inside, because, well, it's made into the side of a ice mountain.

And everyone knows how to use an aura. I learned by the time I was 4. I learned that I shouldn't use my semblance by the age of 9, when I survived a hit from a Ursa while simultaneously breaking through the ice from sheer weight.

There were always place that the ice came down to the path, and the massive ice sheet dumped everything that lost traction on it directly into the path. That was where my parents earned there living. To bring goods in or out of the village with any regularity, you had to get through at least one of those sections. They lived to take the attention away from the group, to fight the elements and creatures that had grown hungry.

Everything is always hungry in the north. Every meal is day of life, so they say.

I put my fingers on the last edge I could see. I hadn't been able to see the top for a while, and I was hoping this was it.

As I pulled myself up, I saw that it was indeed the top, and there waited a large fire. 5 large logs surrounded it, but they were all empty.

"Ah, Mr. Drake, go to see you arrive. Come take a seat."

I couldn't see the source of the voice until I got closer to the fire. Directly behind it from the point I had come up from the cliff was an average sized man with black sunglasses. His apparel was a thick leather coat with a fur liner. The biggest draw though, was the glasses. They were set in close, so much so that I though that there was strap in the back keeping them on.

"Soo, your at it alone. I'm sure your wondering why that's possible?"

I sighed. "Let me sleep..."

"We would have to get you to the dorm for that."

"No, I can do it here."

The man chuckled. "Even in the snow? I mean, it's not that long of climb."

"Its a stupidly long climb."

"Barely 800 feet."

"It's straight up."

"Oh course it is, it's a cliff."

I took a deep breath.

"Why are you just dawdling..."

"Dawdling? You make that up?"

"What lesson are you supposed to impart to me oh wise one? Give it to me so I can go sleep."

"The question isn't "what"..."

My patience was wearing thin.

"Who are you then?"

"Professor Appleton, at your service. I'm to be your main adviser during your tenure here at Atlas. They gave you to me specifically because I don't mind your lack of respect."

"Because it isn't a lack of respect." I spoke. I looked into the sunglasses.

He had a bit of silence.

"It's a lack of regard."

I nodded. This is someone that I think I'm going to get along with. The man cocked his head at me, not quite turning his head to my direction.

"So many people don't notice the difference. Respect means that you will listen to someone question you, Regard, by your definition, means that you will follow them without question. Such a thing they depend here, even if they don't realize it. So many people look upon the Atlas military with a honor for what they have done and are. You don't, and by the fact that I can't hear you shivering tells me you are from the north. You are an anomaly, then. Tell me, do your parents support your coming to Atlas?"

"They're dead, so they don't have much say in the matter."

"Would they though?"

"I don't know. I never really knew them as what you would call normally."

"Did you know them well though?"

"I guess you could say that. I spent a lot of time with them, especially when I could."

"Then you have enough knowledge to hazard a guess as to what they would say."

"I don't think they thought well of the military that left them to die, but they also wanted me to pursue my dreams. That's why I don't know."

The man leaned back a bit.

"Ahhh, that explains a great deal."

There was a long pause.

An extended pause.

I didn't know what I was supposed to be thinking about while this man apprentice sat and thought.

Then it occurred to me as his head slowly nodded down.

"Your not falling asleep on me, are you?"

He jerked up a bit.

"Hhugh? I don't know what your talking about."

He gave a big yawn.

"So, what totem did you grab?"

I pulled the medal out of my pocket.

"Ahh, a medal from the Ricksaw campaign. Appropriately bloody. I believe one of the other medals was taken up by your little girlfriend."

I thought for a moment in silence.

"I'm sorry, but no one that meets that description has ever existed."

"Really?"

"Ask Legion, I'm an idiot when it comes to relationships."

"It's the little girl that goes by that name that I'm referring."

That line didn't quite hit me.

What...

I went over everything and tried to put that sentence through the blender I call a brain.

Legion is a girl.

"Oh..."


End file.
